Alex unplugged her laptop from the docking station and followed Frank down the hall. They stopped at Grace’s office, where Alex asked her to push back the mid-morning meeting they had scheduled for one of their other projects.
As they walked to the executive suite, she breathed deeply through her nose, trying to quell the nervousness in her stomach. She’d hoped to have her project approved, but this seemed to be moving too fast. Her heart raced, and she realized the adrenaline coursing through her system would have her bouncing off the walls if she didn’t calm down.
They reached the CEO’s office, where Frank knocked twice on the door before walking in. Jeff greeted them and pointed to the round conference table to the right while he finished a phone call. Alex followed Frank’s lead and sat down, opening her laptop on the table.
Jeff Davis was a former engineer who had risen through the ranks to the top spot at the company. He was down-to-earth and easygoing most of the time, but a stickler for perfection and known to call out anyone who tried to bullshit him. His mercurial moods could change him from a pleasant guy to a ruthless shark in a flash if he thought you weren’t being level with him. While Alex admired his vision and work ethic, she was intimidated by him as well. She hated not knowing which Jeff would appear each day.
“Alex, Frank.” He nodded at them both. “Thanks for coming so quickly. I’m excited about this new department and the idea of standardizing our approach. It’s been a pet peeve of mine for a while how all our project proposals come up through various channels and in different formats. I didn’t realize how much it annoyed me until someone proposed something different.”
They all chuckled and, after grabbing a pile of papers from his desk and pulling on a pair of reading glasses, he continued, “So far, everything I’ve seen looks good. Am I reading the plan right? You would need to hire additional project managers?” He looked at Alex.
Alex cleared her throat and answered, “Yes. Originally, we thought the department would grow organically over time, but with the push to establish it by January, we worked it up as a fully functioning department from the beginning. We expect growing pains as the stand-up period is rather short, but with more project managers on staff up front, we can mitigate several of those issues by having a more knowledgeable team and a deeper bench.”
“Makes sense. Planning to hire from within?”
“If we can. I’d prefer to build the team from within the company—you can’t beat tribal knowledge—but doing so depends on several factors. How politically correct I have to be about ‘stealing’ people from other departments, what the salary level is for those folks, and if we want to relocate anyone or not. Those are just a few considerations that will influence what we do. Once we have the green light to talk to people, we can narrow down our requirements, which allow us to firm up these numbers.”
Picking up her point on the salary levels, Frank added, “Some of our folks have been with us long enough to have achieved a high salary via annual increases, so the numbers may change if we find someone who fits our needs but comes with a price tag.”
Jeff rubbed his chin as he considered this. “Gotcha. I know several engineers who have been here as long as I have and make a pretty penny. Although I can’t see any of them in this role.”
He took off his reading glasses and focused on Alex. Everything in his body language told her his next statement was critical. She waited.
“Who will run the department?”
“Me,” she replied without hesitation. “I’m a certified project manager and have been studying the PMO structure since I realized we needed one. I’ve researched what others have done and read several case studies on starting up a project management office in an existing corporation.”
“It’s an ambitious plan to have this in place by January. Will you have time with all the extracurricular activities and celebrity acquaintances you have going on right now?” Without waiting for an answer, he looked at Frank and added, “Might think about putting Steve in charge of this,” effectively dismissing Alex.
Alex blanched as she gawked at him.What the fuck? Did he just refer to my dating life? And threaten to take away my idea because of it?she thought. A low thrumming started in her ears as she felt the blood rush back into her face. She was sure her cheeks were bright red.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
Jeff swung his attention back to her. “Alex, you’re great at what you do. I don’t want to overburden you with this. You have a great deal going on—”
“Are you married, Jeff?” she interrupted him.
“Uh… yes.”
“Do you have kids, Jeff?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Not adamnthing,” she told him. “In fact, I didn’t know until this minute your marital status or that you had kids, but not knowing about your personal life didn’t change the way I thought about you professionally. At all. Funny how I expected the same consideration from you.”
Frank sat up and spoke, “Alex—”
Alex closed her laptop with a snap. “Until this moment, I admired you. I have watched you steer this company toward continuous improvement and have been thrilled to be a part of that effort. I never expected you to think of me as anything other than a competent employee helping you reach your vision.” She straightened her back and lowered her voice. “My personal life outside this office has never and will never affect my work. My relationship status is none of your damn business. And furthermore, you wouldneverhave brought it up if I were a man.” She pushed back from the table, preparing to stand.
“Alex, wait.”
Alex froze where she was. Her hands shook, and she clenched her fists to hide it. She didn’t know which was worse… his treatment of her or that she had told him off. She was mad enough to quit on the spot. Or would Jeff Davis fire her for insubordination and save her the effort? She stared him in the eye as she waited.
Jeff’s gaze slid from her to Frank, then out the window. He stared outside a minute before focusing again on her. “Alex, I apologize. You’re right, I was out of line. I should never have brought your personal life into the conversation.” The corner of his mouth raised in a half-smile. “And you called me out on that bullshit too. I knew you were tough.” His smile slid away. “I’m sorry for both questioning your ability and for making a remark about your private life.”
“A sexist remark,” Alex said before she could help herself.
“Alex—” Frank began.
